The absence of some notable faces allowed for even more young athletes to shine in the third meet of the Ultimate Racenight League.
Several events saw new winners at Dubai Sports City on Thursday night, including the sought-after crown of the men’s seniors 100m.
Kashif Taiyebi paced the field in 11.67 seconds to be the event’s third winner in as many meets.
UAE’s own Musa Khalfan wasn’t there to defend his title in the sprint, which he claimed in a league-best 10.60 seconds in November’s meet, but Taiyebi hopes he’ll be able to run against the best down the road.
“I didn’t feel the competition was as much as the past two Racenights, but hopefully in the next one we’ll get more seniors to do it,” the 18-year-old said. “More competition provokes athletes to do better. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
In U17, Ultimate Athletics’ Adil Amin recorded a personal best in the 1500m with a time of 4:26.87.
It was a bit prophetic for the 15-year-old, who said he was aiming for a PB following the second Racenight meet – Amin’s first race since recovering from a knee injury.
“I’ve felt much better. My knee is fine now and nothing went wrong with me today,” he said. “It’s just a bit of mental pressure. I just feel afraid and anxious…just in general. Every race, I see new people come and I think ‘they might be better than me.’”
A trip to India where he ran a 3k over the winter break, helped Amin deal with that mental pressure.
“I lost that race, but it was a good lesson for me,” he said. “What really tackled me in that race was my mental pressure and my fear of running races. I feel tired sometimes before dropping out, but I’m trying to battle that now.”
Arguably the most impressive performance of the third Racenight belonged to Moroccan Nouman Elassaoui.
After only being in Dubai for six months, Elassaoui has already made an impact with his eye-popping time of 01:52.53 in the 800m.
It was markedly better than his time of 1:56.70 in his first and only league appearance in the opening meet.
“I am very happy to win this race, especially without spikes,” he said. “It’s not time for a meet with spikes for me yet.”
Another 100m winner, 15-year-old Chris Assimacopoulos, crossed in first for the third straight time in 11.54 seconds.
The South African-born athlete also plays rugby with Dubai Hurricanes and credits his running to the team sport.
“I started off in rugby. I was pre-tty quick so I joined athletics and it took off from there,” Assimacopoulos said.
“The rugby fitness helps a lot because there’s a lot of sprinting, starting and stopping.”
Following a two-month hiatus, the Ultimate Racenight League meets have resumed every month, with the next slated for Thursday, February 25.
